2021 New York Excelsior season
# 2021 New York Excelsior season

The 2021 New York Excelsior season will be the fourth season of New York Excelsior's (NYXL) existence in the Overwatch League and their first under head coach Lee "WhyNot" Ju-hyeop.

## Preceding offseason

### Roster changes

Free agents :

| Position | Handle | Name | 2021 team | Date signed | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Support | Anamo | Jung Tae-sung | Seoul Dynasty | November 29 | Option declined |
| Tank | Bianca | Kim Dong-wook | New York Excelsior | December 11 | Option declined |
| Damage | Haksal | Kim Hyo-jong | – | – | Option declined |
| Damage | Libero | Kim Hae-seong | – | – | Option declined |
| Tank | Mano | Kim Dong-gyu | Philadelphia Fusion | November 2 | Option declined |
| Damage | Saebyeolbe | Park Jong-ryeol | Seoul Dynasty | November 29 | Option declined |
| Damage | WhoRU | Lee Seung-jun | – | – | Option declined |
| Legend  Light green background indicates a player was re-signed by the Excelsior.  Light red background indicates a player departed from the Excelsior. ||||||

The NYXL entered free agency with seven free agents, all of which became free agents due to the team not exercising the option to retain the player for another year.

**Acquisitions**

The Excelsior's first offseason acquisition was Jo "Yakpung" Gyeong-mu, a tank player coming off of an Overwatch Contenders Korea championship with O2 Blast who signed on December 11, 2020. Six days later, they signed rookie Lee "Friday" Seung-woo, a "skilled and flexible" support player coming from Contenders team OZ Gaming. On December 22, the team announced the signing of four damage players: Jo "FEATH5R" Min-jae, a rookie coming from OZ Gaming, Lim "Flora" Young-woo, a rookie hitscan player coming from Contenders team Team Diamond, Kim "Gwangboong" Gwang-won, another rookie hitscan player coming from Contenders team Team Cat, and Lee "Ivy" Seung-hyun, a veteran who was "one of the most flexible and deadly" damage players with the Philadelphia Fusion in 2020.

**Departures**

The Excelsior released two of their contracted players on October 22, 2020: damage player Jeong "Nenne" Yeon-gwan and tank player Choi "Hotba" Hong-jun. Six of the NYXL's seven free agents did not return, three of which signed with other teams, beginning with tank player Kim "Mano" Dong-gyu signing with the Philadelphia Fusion on November 2. On November 29, support player Jung "Anamo" Tae-sung and tank player Park "Saebyeolbe" Jong-ryeol signed with the Seoul Dynasty. Damage players Kim "Haksal" Hyo-jong and Lee "WhoRU" Seung-jun both announced their retirements in the offseason. The team's final free agent, damage player Kim "Libero" Hae-seong did not sign with a team in the offseason.

## Final roster

### Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2021 regular season:

* On June 30, the Excelsior signed tank player Shin "Kalios" Woo-yeol.
* On July 16, damage player Lee "Ivy" Seung-hyun retired.

## Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Shanghai Dragons | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0.75 | 38 | 19 | 2 | +19 | 20 | Advance to season playoffs |
| 2 | Chengdu Hunters | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0.69 | 38 | 22 | 2 | +16 | 15 | Advance to season playoffs |
| 3 | Seoul Dynasty | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0.75 | 40 | 22 | 0 | +18 | 12 | Advance to play-ins |
| 4 | Philadelphia Fusion | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0.63 | 37 | 24 | 3 | +13 | 10 | Advance to play-ins |
| 5 | Hangzhou Spark | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0.44 | 32 | 31 | 0 | +1 | 7 | Advance to play-ins |
| 6 | New York Excelsior | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0.44 | 29 | 32 | 0 | −3 | 7 | |
| 7 | Guangzhou Charge | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0.31 | 20 | 38 | 4 | −18 | 5 | |
| 8 | Los Angeles Valiant | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0.00 | 2 | 48 | 1 | −46 | 0 | |

## Game log

### Regular season

2021 game log :

May Melee

Qualifier match 1

April 24

Chengdu Hunters

3

0

New York Excelsior

Online

5:00 am EDT

   Details

2

Nepal

0

1

Dorado

0

2

Temple of Anubis

0

Qualifier match 2

April 25

Hangzhou Spark

1

3

New York Excelsior

Online

5:00 am EDT

   Details

1

Busan

2

2

Havana

3

2

Volskaya Industries

0

1

King's Row

3

Qualifier match 3

April 30

Seoul Dynasty

3

0

New York Excelsior

Online

6:30 am EDT

   Details

2

Lijiang Tower

0

2

Hanamura

1

3

Eichenwalde

2

Qualifier match 4

May 01

Shanghai Dragons

3

0

New York Excelsior

Online

8:00 am EDT

   Details

2

Ilios

1

2

Temple of Anubis

1

3

Blizzard World

1 :

June Joust

Qualifier match 1

May 22

New York Excelsior

3

1

Philadelphia Fusion

Online

8:00 am EDT

   Details

2

Lijiang Tower

0

3

Numbani

0

2

Rialto

3

2

Volskaya Industries

0

Qualifier match 2

May 23

New York Excelsior

1

3

Guangzhou Charge

Online

6:30 am EDT

   Details

1

Nepal

2

1

Hollywood

3

3

Junkertown

1

0

Hanamura

1

Qualifier match 3

May 29

New York Excelsior

1

3

Seoul Dynasty

Online

6:30 am EDT

   Details

1

Oasis

2

3

Junkertown

2

0

Hanamura

1

3

Hollywood

4

Qualifier match 4

May 30

New York Excelsior

3

0

Los Angeles Valiant

Online

5:00 am EDT

   Details

2

Ilios

0

1

Dorado

0

1

Temple of Anubis

0

Regional finals

June 06

New York Excelsior

3

1

Hangzhou Spark

Online

5:00 am EDT

   Details

Hosted by the Hangzhou Spark

0

Oasis

2

2

Temple of Anubis

0

3

Numbani

2

1

Dorado

0

Tournament first round

June 10

New York Excelsior

0

3

Atlanta Reign

Online

9:00 pm EDT

   Details

0

Lijiang Tower

2

2

Temple of Anubis

4

3

Numbani

4

Lower round 1

June 11

New York Excelsior

0

3

Shanghai Dragons

Online

10:45 pm EDT

   Details

0

Busan

2

0

Temple of Anubis

2

2

Numbani

3 :

Summer Showdown

Qualifier match 1

June 26

Guangzhou Charge

3

2

New York Excelsior

Online

8:00 am EDT

   Details

2

Lijiang Tower

0

2

King's Row

3

4

Junkertown

3

3

Volskaya Industries

4

2

Oasis

1

Qualifier match 2

June 27

New York Excelsior

3

0

Los Angeles Valiant

Online

8:00 am EDT

   Details

2

Ilios

0

3

Hollywood

0

3

Watchpoint: Gibraltar

1

Qualifier match 3

July 09

Hangzhou Spark

3

2

New York Excelsior

Online

5:00 am EDT

   Details

Hosted by the Shanghai Dragons

1

Oasis

2

3

Volskaya Industries

2

3

King's Row

2

2

Junkertown

3

2

Nepal

0

Qualifier match 4

July 10

New York Excelsior

3

1

Philadelphia Fusion

Online

5:00 am EDT

   Details

2

Busan

1

2

Temple of Anubis

1

2

Eichenwalde

3

2

Route 66

1

Regional finals

July 11

New York Excelsior

0

3

Shanghai Dragons

Online

5:12 am EDT

   Details

0

Ilios

2

2

Volskaya Industries

3

4

King's Row

5 :

Countdown Cup

Qualifier match 1

July 31

New York Excelsior

3

0

Los Angeles Valiant

Online

6:30 am EDT

   Details

2

Oasis

1

3

Blizzard World

2

3

Rialto

1

Qualifier match 2

August 01

Shanghai Dragons

2

3

New York Excelsior

Online

6:30 am EDT

   Details

1

Ilios

2

3

King's Row

2

1

Havana

2

3

Volskaya Industries

2

1

Lijiang Tower

2

Qualifier match 3

August 07

New York Excelsior

1

3

Philadelphia Fusion

Online

5:00 am EDT

   Details

1

Lijiang Tower

2

0

Route 66

3

2

Hanamura

1

2

Numbani

3

Qualifier match 4

August 08

Chengdu Hunters

3

1

New York Excelsior

Online

6:30 am EDT

   Details

0

Nepal

2

3

Rialto

1

2

Volskaya Industries

1

3

King's Row

1

Regional finals

August 15

New York Excelsior

1

3

Chengdu Hunters

Online

5:05 am EDT

   Details

0

Ilios

2

4

Hanamura

3

4

King's Row

5

2

Havana

3 :

2021 season schedule :

